Sharp Others

Sharp Corporation has been out in the global electronics market for more than a century. This Japanese manufacturer managed to surprise the customers from time to time by unrivaled inventions, starting from the ever-sharp mechanical pencil in 1915 and finishing with IGZO technology in 2012. Let’s take a look at the most significant aspects of Sharp’s operation.

Company’s Profile. Sharp’s main building is headquartered in Abeno-ku, Osaka. As of end of March, 2014, the consolidated workforce counted 50.253 employees (as domestic so overseas ones). The company’s name derives from the very first item manufactured by Tokuji Hayakawa – ever-sharp mechanical pencil. Later on, it got universal fame for the introduction of the world’s first commercial camera phone in 1997.

Products & Sales. Nowadays Sharp focuses its operation on the development of multiple goods for home and office: cellular phones, video projectors, LCD panels, MFP devices, monitors, air conditioners, microwave ovens, flash memory, CMOS sensors, photocopiers, laser printers, cash registers, visual entertainment equipment, and many others. The vendor is considered to be the fifth-largest TV manufacturer in the world, yielding to LG, Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung. Its consolidated sales index for the 2013 fiscal year makes up 2.927.186 million yen.

Innovations. The Corporation takes pride in the implementation of a revolutionary IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) technology into display manufacture. It was the first to integrate transparent crystalline oxide semiconductor into consumer- and professional-oriented monitors. IGZO’s key advantage is low power consumption and prolonged battery life. Since this technology dramatically changed the way we perceive visual information, it was, further on, widely incorporated into tablets and smartphones.

Future plans. While 4K monitors and panels are only expanding their glory across the globe, Sharp has already outlined ambitious plans to elaborate devices with 8K resolution till 2020. In fact, the company has been sweating over 8K prototypes for years, so it cherishes hopes to get to the point till the scheduled date.